Night 3 and we were dancing at the Pirate Party.

ship

crowd

The Castmembers were trying to show us moves to do in a type of linedance thing, but AJ said, “I just want to do my thing and that’s breakdancing!” What a rebel, non-conformist! I loved it!

Breakdancing 2

There was the BIGGEST Chocolate ship I’ve ever seen.

ship

and Mickey to the Rescue!

mickey 1

mickey 2

Finally, the moment we were waiting for….FIREWORKS! Disney is the only cruiseline in the world that is allowed to launch fireworks off of the ship at sea.

Fireworks 1

fireworks 2

fireworks 3

finally we went back to the room for some sleep and found a towel dog!!!

towel dog

Stay tuned for more exciting adventures…or not…ahead!

Thanks for reading this and being with us through every moment.

Christy Marks

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ajmarks
http://prayforaj.wordpress.com/
http://www.teamunite.net/

AJ’s MAW – Day 3 – Castaway Cay!

So we get up on day 3 and look out the porthole and see gloom and general yuckiness. Darn. All through breakfast we’re hoping we will be able to dock because sometimes they aren’t able to dock when the waters are rough. Here are a few pictures:

Thankfully a cheer goes up from the crew, we are docked. Unfortunately all of the activities except a little swimming and biking are cancelled due to high winds. We were all a little disappointed since Austin & Chris were supposed to go parasailing and AJ and I were supposed to swim with stingrays and ride waterbikes.

Look at the tree! Yeah, parasailing might not be a good idea!

palm tree

We stopped to take some pictures of the Flying Dutchman and of course, a visit with Goofy & AJ’s favorite, Pluto.

Dutchman 1

Chris & AJ

The boys

Dutchman 2

Goofy and AJ

AJ and Pluto

I have to add in here, AJ was a little bitter about the whole watertrike thing. He REALLY wanted to ride that trike. He and Chris hung around to eat the BBQ lunch (this wasn’t the type of BBQ we’re used to here in the midwest btw, but it was ok) and then went back to the ship.

Chris & AJ

view

Austin and I braved it on the beach for another hour or so. Yes, I know it ‘looks’ beautiful in some of these, but it was COLDD! brrrr…

beach

Sand Castles

Yeah, here it is from the other direction.

The Wonder

Once back onboard we relaxed and got ready to go to a private party with Captain Mickey!!!! We didn’t know what it was until we got there, and it was in the lux ‘Cadillac Lounge’ that the boys thought was so cool.

private 2

Private

After that we got ready for the Pirate Party!!! Which deserves it’s own post.
Stay tuned for more exciting adventures…or not…ahead!

Thanks for reading this and being with us through every moment.

Christy Marks

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ajmarks
http://prayforaj.wordpress.com/
http://www.teamunite.net/

AJ’s MAW – Day 2 – Nassau, Bahamas!

Woohoo! So on Monday morning we docked at Nassau and woke up excited to start another exciting day, this time venturing into the Bahamas (first time for all of us).

Here is a pullback of the Wonder, she’s so pretty!

So after disembarking we got on a shuttle to take us to Atlantis. That was a fun ride in itself! AJ got to sit up in front and got the full view.

Here are a few shots of the resort

Ok, here is one of all of us before changing into swimsuits to tackle all of the slides

Austin and AJ’s favorite slides were in the Mayan Temple. Austin & Chris rode one that was nearly a straight vertical that took you through an underwater tube through the shark aquarium. AJ & I were like, thanks, but no thanks. It was a little much for us, but the one beside it was an innertube ride through the same aquarium that drifted once you got into the aquarium and we did that one. It was really neat to be inside the shark aquarium safely enclosed. (These were not small sharks btw) We are used to going to US aquariums and seeing smallish sharks in those. I guess I was expecting something like that, but these were some huge guys. I think the guide I talked to said there were Reefs, Whites & Nurse in it. EEEk!!! You could go walking in it with them if you wanted. (shudder)

After lunch Austin & I rode a few more slides and AJ and I decided to do the lazy river again. Unfortunately this time he got hurt. We headed up a path we didn’t take on our last go around (this is a huge lazy river) and inadvertently hit a waterslide. I asked him if he wanted to skip it and just walk down but he said he’d be fine. (I think it was the Falls) I had ridden it with Austin earlier and thought he would enjoy it.

However…you knew that was coming, right? Although he was tall enough to ride it, his weight didn’t carry him down it well enough and he got stuck in a dark corner. I was right behind him and all of a sudden just heard him screaming. I said to hold on because I’m fast and right behind you and tried to slow down but crashed into him causing him to hit the bottom of the slide which was in the rapids really hard and seriously stub his toe (we thought it was broken at first). aaaargh! After much drama (it looked terrible, turned all purple I thought it was broken) we decided to head back to the ship for the rest of the afternoon. Austin had also scraped his side good by that time on some of the rocks that lined the lazy river.

Despite all of this we all agreed Atlantis was definitely worth it and we would go back again. So there you have it, our little drama at Atlantis.

Back on board we chilled out and explored.

This amazing chandelier is right outside of Triton’s on the Wonder

Here are some towel creatures….

Stay tuned for more exciting adventures…or not…ahead!

Thanks for reading this and being with us through every moment.

Christy Marks

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ajmarks
http://prayforaj.wordpress.com/
http://www.teamunite.net/

AJ’s MAW – Night 1 – Day 1

Well, we started the journey on Jan. 31 Saturday night. A hummer limo picked us up at our house despite terrible weather and delivered us safely to the hotel at the airport.

Everyone was surprised to see a hummer limo, but with the weather so bad and us being out in the boonies, it made sense. The boys thought it was awesome, but wished it had come with candy! Kids, what can you do? Everything is better with candy I guess. LOL

We were up bright and early the next morning to set off on the next leg of our adventure – to the airport. We went through security and boarded the plane on time arriving in sunny Orlando FL by 10:00. After that we waited to catch a shuttle to Port Canaveral and the Disney Wonder! Woohoo!

The Castmembers there treated us very well and put us into the Castaway Club line eventually taking us right from there directly onto the ship without having to wait or any delays. It was really awesome. Once onboard we ate lunch at the Beach Blanket Buffet on deck 9 while waiting to get into our stateroom.

Upon entering the stateroom we found some surprises. Our MAW host onboard the ship was Blair and he left AJ a Captain Mickey animal to say hello. We also had some special treats from our MAW angels back in Indiana. Some yummy chocolate treats and sparkling apple cider. After enjoying the treats and unpacking a little bit, we headed out to the Mickey pool for a quick swim before the mandatory lifeboat drill.

Quick trivia for you: (Did you know that Disney had to get special permission to use yellow lifeboats?) It’s true. They are the only ship allowed yellow lifeboats. All others are orange.

Let’s see….after the lifeboat drill we went back to our room and got changed for our first night at dinner, which was at Parrot Cay, Table 4. But WAIT! We had to go to the going away party on decks 9 and 10! It was a lot of fun. I got christened by an excited gull (icky), but it was great to see the ship head out to sea.

Port Canaveral

Right after this the bird crapped in my hair! Fun, fun!

Ok, then we went to dinner….there we met our servers that would follow us every night onboard ship. They were awesome btw. The service at Disney is first class all the way. The cleanest place I’ve ever been and the nicest. I never saw a CM without a smile and a kind word.

Ok, I would like to say we whooped it up the first night and went to the Superbowl party onboard, but AJ and Chris were so exhausted from not sleeping the previous night they were out like a light after dinner. Austin had gone off to the teen club, so I read my book. LOL

Stay tuned for more exciting adventures…or not…ahead!

Thanks for reading this and being with us through every moment.

Christy Marks

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ajmarks
http://prayforaj.wordpress.com/
http://www.teamunite.net/

Our MAW volunteers called up a week ago to see if it would be ok to send AJ off in style. They had a little Bon Voyage party for him at Culvers.

It was a surprise and a hard one to keep at that!

AJs key to VIP treatment

talk to the shoe

our MAW supporters

I say unofficial, because until we see an MRI nothing is final, right? But we BeLIeVE and pray that it really will be the last one. Just a few photos with some wonderful people who’ve touched our lives this year.

With nurse Sally

and Jayne

We had a fun time at the last Colts game thanks to Gary Brackett http://www.garybrackett.org/index.php and Riley Hospital for Children. I managed to take a few pictures, but the guys were a little camera shy.

Yeah, they were cold and not thrilled here.

There was this awesome stage with a band playing when we walked in. I can’t get over the excitement and atmosphere. Definitely FUN!

um, yeah. This was a little high up for my comfort zone. I prefer the “worms eye view” not the “birds eye view”.

I think one of the boys took this shot of the fireworks.

Every time the Colts scored they lighted fireworks! We went to a good game because they scored a lot!!!!

All I can say is WHAT A GREAT NIGHT! I think this was so special for AJ as his buddies from Sunday School started this off, primarily as a kids party. It quickly turned into much more with the community helping out and raising money for AJ’s medical bills. I have a few pictures, but soon after it kicked off he got really tired and I took him home. Here is what I have:

AJ was invited to the MAW/99.5 WZPL Request-A-Thon in November and it was a lot of fun. Sorry it has taken me awhile to get the pictures up here. But here you are!

Z99.5’s 12th Annual
Request-A-Thon
November 20th – 21st, 2008
To benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of
Greater Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana: Indiana Region

the Request-a-thon has raised more than $2.3-million in the past twelve years – enough money to grant 430 wishes for area children who face a life threatening medical condition.  This year alone, more than $325,000 was donated to the Make A Wish Foundation.

AJ had a lot of fun with Smiley, for those of you who caught the broadcast, he even threatened to slap him!

This is AJ with Lauren from MAW

Talking with Smiley

He was trying to stick the Mic in my face here, for those of you who caught the broadcast, he also asked Smiley to take away my camera! HEY! LOL

Austin goofing off! GOT MILK?

And last, but not least, with Colts Dallas Clark! BONUS!

We got word a couple weeks ago that AJ’s Sunday School class at Sunrise Christian Reformed Church was  planning a Chili Supper & Uno Tournament with a silent auction. I am just so excited because AJ LOVES UNO! What a fun thing for him to look forward to, and what a wonderful class to remember him by doing this thoughtful thing!

More details: